


the very next day

by afrocurl



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cat Charles, Emotionally Crippled Erik, Gen, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, Past Abuse, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-15
Updated: 2013-07-15
Packaged: 2017-12-20 06:25:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/883983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik has moments when he truly hates his assistant. Case in point: when she suggests that to make him less gruff he find a cat.</p><p>That's how he comes home with a flamepoint who may or may not be the worst thing in his life.</p><p>He hasn't decided yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the very next day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [helens78](https://archiveofourown.org/users/helens78/gifts).



> I'd fault you for this, Helens, but I'm pretty sure you're going to be fine with this little slice of insanity. 
> 
> Because: cats!

“You need something to keep you responsible,” Raven said just as Erik was about to leave the office, at 11 PM.

“Isn’t that why you work for me?” he asked instead of actually responding to her statement. He wasn’t about to give his personal assistant any leverage.

“That isn’t why I work for you, and you know it. You have no sense of appropriate working hours and you need someone, or something, to keep you honest. You need a pet.”

He wanted to balk at the idea, because he had never been a fan of small animals. “I don’t see your point.”

“My point is this: if you had a pet, you’d have to be up at a certain hour to feed it in the morning and in the evening. A cat would be better than a dog because they’re more self-sufficient in an apartment,” she said. “I’ll email you a site later that you can look at to find some cat that meets your stoic personality.”

She walked out of the office after that, and Erik knew that was his sign to leave as well. He wouldn’t be able to do half of what he needed to do without her to prod him.

-

True to her word Raven sent him a link to something called Pet Finder the next morning, and as he opened the link, he was inundated with scores of cats in and around New York City that were looking to be adopted. He scrolled through a few pages before he stopped at a pair of blue eyes so striking against a creamy white coat intermixed with streaks of orange around the face and paws.

The site said that the cat’s name was Charles, and Erik looked at what shelter was holding him.

He’d have to sneak out of work early, just so he wouldn’t have to tell Raven that he was going to adopt a cat.

-

Despite Erik having never cared for a pet before, the shelter was happy that he was willing to adopt such a gorgeous cat. The woman in the room said that Charles had just been brought in - abandoned by his former owners. He was very affectionate as Erik looked at him and after completing all of the paperwork, Erik left with Charles in a small cardboard cat carrier.

He quickly managed to find a pet store on his way back, and bought all the necessary items for a cat - litter box and litter, containers for food and food itself, along with a few toys - before he brought Charles home.

-

He thought it best to leave Charles in a small space for the next few days, and carefully arranged his bathroom to fit Charles’ litter box and some food - far away from the litter box - and let his new cat explore the space.

A few hours later, Erik heard a few strangled mews and scratches from the bathroom door. 

“Charles, you need to use that space before I let you out. That’s what all the websites say.”

Erik stopped himself just after he realized he just talked to his cat. This was not going to end well.

-

Charles kept mewling and scratching all night long, and Erik almost regretted getting the small flamepoint, but then he looked at the face staring at him in the morning, Erik forgot all about last night.

“Okay, Charles. I’m going to feed you and maybe we’ll see about letting you have the apartment to yourself while I go to work.”

For an answer, Charles meowed and pawed at Erik’s pyjama bottoms.

Happily eating a few minutes later, Erik felt better about his day before he left for work.

He still left Charles in the bathroom, unsure if the cat would be too frightened by the space with no one there.

-

“What’s eating you?” Raven asked just as Erik walked towards his office.

“Your suggestion. I may have taken it up and I couldn’t sleep last night.” For his trouble, he shot her a glare that normally sent the interns running and/or crying.

“What’s the cat look like? I want to see,” Raven nearly squealed as she also nearly tackled Erik.

After Raven managed to move away from Erik to grab his phone, he swiped through his phone's gallery and showed off a few photos. 

“Oh my! He’s adorable! When can I come see him?”

“I’m not sure he’ll be good around people just yet. I don’t even think he likes me so far.”

Raven thought for a moment. “Well, when you’re both ready, let me know. He looks like the most precious thing.”

-

In the day that Erik had been away, it was apparent that Charles had decided that he wanted to crawl and pull at everything in the bathroom. His towel was only shredded at the bottom, though all of Erik’s toiletries were strewn across the floor.

“Charles, are you okay?” he asked. For a reply, his new cat tried to hide behind the toilet, clearly afraid of something.

“Okay, Charles. I’ll leave you, and leave the door cracked.”

Erik was about to say something else when he again realized that he was talking to his cat.

It was going to be a few more days before Raven came to see Charles.

He was almost sure that Charles still needed more time to adjust to his space.

-

Charles mewed and whined all night long, leaving Erik no time to sleep. 

In the small hours, with Charles still talking loudly, Erik gave in, and left a message for the office.

There was no way he could go to work after this.

-

With time on his hands, Erik found that his apartment was boring, even with a new cat. Charles had stopped crying after Erik hadn’t left for work, but soon after that, Erik was sure Charles went back to attacking all the available surfaces in the bathroom.

Maybe it was time for Charles to explore the whole space. As soon as Erik left the door open, Charles carefully walked out, mewing as he did.

“It’s okay, Charles. You’ll be fine. Come on.” Erik tried to offer a hand out as a peace offering, but Charles looked at it and then ran off towards Erik’s bedroom.

“Go ahead. Clearly I’m not going to use it,” he called as he clicked on the TV.

-

“Yes, Raven, I understand that it’s been five days since I’ve been in the office, but Charles needs me.” Erik huffed in annoyance, because even though he’d called and emailed at least five times every day he’d been gone, Raven still worried.

“What’s his problem?” she asked instead of actually listening to what Erik had said.

“So far as I can tell, he might have been mistreated before. He just needs time to know I won’t attack him.”

“You’re willing to do that?” Her tone was disbelieving, which given his general tenor wasn’t out of the ordinary.

“Since you convinced me to get a cat, I won’t treat him poorly.”

Just as Erik finished, there was a slight crash from the kitchen. “Gotta go, Raven. Charles versus the kitchen counters isn’t going so well for the counters.”

There was a soft laugh before Erik hung up the phone. He couldn’t take more of Raven’s reactions right now.

His place settings were taking a beating. Before long, he’d need to go buy another set of eight from Crate and Barrel.

-

A small mew came from the corner of Erik’s room, just as he assumed that Charles was walking towards him.

Despite Raven’s continued protesting, Erik had managed to convince Tony Stark to let him work from home and in those days, Charles had managed fewer fits and had started to want to spend more time with Erik in sight.

It might have been the sign that Charles was becoming less afraid of Erik, but Erik was too tired to think it through.

There was a slight dip in his mattress before Charles came towards Erik’s chest and nestled in for the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to **ninemoons42** for the beta.


End file.
